California’s Medical Marijuana Law & The Federal Government’s Intervention

The discussion of marijuana in the United States is a heated debated. Almost everyone has a stance on the issue, whether being in support or opposition of medical marijuana and the recreational use of the plant. 

Three lawsuits have recently been filed to medical marijuana dispensaries in California. Over 60 dispensaries in just two cities of Orange County have received warning letters threatening criminal charges if not shut down. Though California law approved medical marijuana in 1996, Feds claim states law is being taken advantage of by crooked doctors who do not properly diagnose patients with the recommendation. It is believed that the recommendations are rather being sold to anyone who desires a medical marijuana prescription.

One clinic in LA County, Happy Medical, was shut down after an undercover producer exposed that the recommendation was too easily obtained. Turns out that the ‘doctors’ seeing the patients were actually, no real doctors at all. Rather, the doctors performing the examinations were physical therapists signing off for the real doctor, Dr. James A. Hartleroad, 67 miles away from the clinic. Hartleroad never once saw a patient and pleads his case saying that his physician assistants perform the examination for him. The scandal has nullified thousands of medical marijuana patient’s recommendations. 

It’s widely known how simple it is to receive approval for medical marijuana in California. We’ve all seen the billboards on the busy freeways offering recommendations for low prices. I predict that the federal government will continue to crack down on dispensaries and clinics in California. The question is, should they?

The Declaration of Independence grants American’s their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Every person’s pursuit of happiness is different. Man should be free to do whatever he desires, eat what he wants, drink what he pleases, and smoke whatever tickles his fancy as long as it does not affect the health and well being of another person. In support of marijuana or not, the government should not have that much power to decipher what man can and cannot do on his own spare time. Allowing the government to uphold these laws takes away our personal freedom. 

I say that it’s time marijuana is federally legalized, regulated, and taxed. Harvard professor Jeffrey A. Miron has done a study showing that the combined savings and tax revenue of the legal plant can bring in as much as $10 to $14 billion a year. Now wouldn’t that help solve our overcrowded jails and prisons as well as assisting our National Debt of $16 trillion plus? I think yes.

LittleMissLibertarian
Miranda Pagan